Townsend's Solitaire
Myadestes townsendi

Migratory Status: Short-distance migrant

PIF Population Estimate: 730 000

Percent of western hemisphere population breeding in boreal forest: <25%

BAM Effective Detection Radius (m) : 175.51

PIF Maximum Detection Distance (m) : 200

Canadian BBS Population trend: -2.4 (-3.6 to -1.3)

Life History

The somber gray plumage of the male Townsend’s Solitaire contrasts markedly with its spirited song. Its song has been called the most beautiful of all the thrush family, perhaps the best of all North American songbirds. The song is elaborate and highly variable, consisting of rapid, clear, warbled notes that tend to ramble both in pitch and melody. Notes may run together or be organized into short phrases and tend to have an ethereal quality. During the breeding season, males sing prominently from exposed perches. During the winter months, they sing a quieter, muffled song from concealed locations.

Although rather drab looking, both adult and juvenile Townsend’s Solitaires are distinctive in appearance. Adults are a soft gray with darker wings and tail, while juveniles are darker overall and their plumage has a scaly-looking appearance. Both adults and juveniles have a conspicuously large white eye-ring and white outer tail feathers. Townsend’s Solitaires also have apricot wing-bars that are noticeable while perched, and diagnostic in flight. Adult males and females are visually identical and keep the same plumage year-round.

The breeding range of the Townsend’s Solitaire is limited to the mountain ranges of the west, spanning from Alaska to the northern border of Mexico. Townsend’s Solitaires breed in open, coniferous forests in mountain habitats, at times past the treeline. They will nest in thinned forests created by fire or selective logging that have sparse shrub layers and little ground cover. Townsend’s Solitaires often nest in association with forest edges and may prefer sloped topography. Nests typically have overhead cover and are built on exposed dirt banks along road cuts. Some nests are built on the ground beneath rocks, logs, or other objects that have overhangs.

Townsend’s Solitaires may wander in the winter, some as far east as the Great Lakes. Migration is complex or non-existent depending on the population. Some populations migrate south or east, others have elevational migrations, moving to lower areas in winter, while others simply stay put. Regardless of their wintering strategy, the birds are generally after one thing, juniper (Juniperus spp.) berries. Once the berries are found, individual birds will fiercely defend the juniper patches from other Townsend’s Solitaires or other wintering songbirds.

Reference(s)

Bowen, R. V. 1997. Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi), The Birds of North America Online, . A. Poole, Ed. Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North America Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/269